The portable music player has become a ubiquitous part of today's society. People everywhere listen to music as part of their daily lives, while commuting, working, and playing. The integration of portable music players into another ubiquitous device, the mobile telephone, has extended the length of time people wear their earphones during a typical day.
This connection to audio devices isolates people from others in their surrounding environment. To garner the attention of a person wearing earphones, others may raise their voices in an attempt to speak loudly enough to be heard over the music playing or make a physical gesture to attract the attention of the person wearing earphones. Once his or her attention is garnered, the person wearing earphones typically must pause the music or lower the music volume before a conversation can begin.